Life #9: Social Determination
Last weekend I was delighted to support my elder daughter running her first full marathon over the grueling Great Ocean Road, in south-western Victoria. I was so proud of her achievement and our special bond that it triggered memories of my own running exploits.
I proudly watched my daughter, bounding down the steep hill
Emotions overflowing, with the absolute thrill
This graceful gazelle
Was running so well
That on this Great Ocean Road, time suddenly stood still….
To when Abby was born, and she sat on my knee
When I promised I’d be, the best dad I can be
And just then she runs by
With that glint in her eye
Steely determination, just a wee bit like me
Next thing I’m running around Dunedin Harbour
My first marathons, well before being a father
Two hours fifty-four
What else was in store
First in my age group, I had laid down a marker
Yet when back at school, I was hopeless at sport
Uncoordinated, flat feet, scrawny, too short
Then as I grew stronger
My legs could run longer
Forty-two point two kilometres, who would have thought?
I first ran to be fit, for mountains to climb
Or that hit of endorphins, to clarify my mind
Running just for health
Became sport in itself
Then entering in races, for improvements in time
Like the London Marathon, along the river Thames
Training on the towpath, as it twists and bends
But I had to withdraw
Just two days before
For if you overtrain, the body god condemns
Nineteen eighty-seven, I got back on the horse
I finally ran London, left it all on the course
And then there was talk
Of running New York
An expat contingent, a Kiwi show-of-force
To the Verrazano Bridge, we took our starting place
Staten Island, New York, all boroughs in the race
Through Brooklyn and Queens
Incredible scenes
Over to Manhattan, at a blistering pace
Pressing into the Bronx, at the twenty-mile mark
Bands played, locals hollered, even dogs began to bark
Two hours fifty-three
A pleasing PB
Staggering over the line, in New York’s Central Park
More than twenty Half Marathons, I’ve also run for fun
From Cambridge, Wimbledon Windsor, up to the Great North Run
Derbyshire, Sheffield, Stroud
But run one faster, I vowed
At that stage my best time, was one hour twenty-one
Then a Half Marathon on Guernsey Island beckoned
Easter nineteen ninety, and this time I reckoned
Do sub-one hour twenty
Or run on home empty
I just missed that target, by eleven measly seconds!
I’m back running London, the following year
I felt I could still find, a higher speed gear
My own personal contest
An unfinished conquest
The city at my feet, my final frontier
Cannon fire exploded, above the Greenwich start line
I’m nervously hoping, for a personal best time
Runners jostling for space
In the world’s largest race
Niggling pains and self-doubt, start to mess with my mind
Soon gaps opened up, with more room to move
I found my rhythm, settled into a groove
I picked up some speed
Broke from the stampede
The race of my life, with so much to prove
South-east London had music blaring everywhere
Crossed the famous Tower Bridge, a party atmosphere
From jazz singers to drummers
Twenty-four thousand runners
Passed the Tower of London, as spectators cheer
I narrowly avoided hitting the wall
Now on the Embankment, no time to stall
Tired legs were like jelly
A stitch in my belly
Under Admiralty Arch, then down the Mall
Buckingham Palace to Parliament, as Big Ben chimed
I see the Westminster Bridge, finishing line
It gave me a lift
I found a gear shift
Two hours forty-seven, I felt on cloud nine
Today I happily shout, my support from the crowd
Abby’s first full marathon, and I’m ever so proud
I’ve passed on the baton
Now I can just fatten
She had run even faster, than the time she’d allowed
Those lonely hours training, in cold wind and rain
To run this rugged, coastal, iconic terrain
The waves and the water
My triumphant daughter
Exhausted, ecstatic, enduring the pain
Maybe my marathons, invoked some inspiration
But she’s run her own race, I’ve sheer admiration
She can bask in glory
Such a special story
Of lives founded in love and our … shared determination
Kevin Holmes • 25th May 2023
